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E.J. Floreal tweets confirmation that he’ll be at UK

 Posted by at 2:26 PM on June 10, 2013  No Responses »
Jun 102013
 
E.J. Floreal will walk on at UK next season after playing his senior year of high school at Paul Dunbar in Lexington. Photo: Matt Goins

E.J. Floreal will walk on at UK next season after playing his senior year of high school at Paul Dunbar in Lexington.
Photo: Matt Goins

UK wouldn’t officially confirm his addition last week, but a tweet from E.J. Floreal on Monday makes it clear that he will walk on for the basketball team next season.

Floreal, the son of the UK track and field coach Edrick Floreal, tweeted a photo that shows his nameplate (with the No. 24) occupying a spot in the UK locker room.

The 6-foot-5 wing player averaged 11 points per game and was a second-team all-city selection last season at Paul Dunbar. He started his basketball career in California.

Floreal is expected to be one of four walk ons for the Wildcats next season, joining returnees Brian Long, Sam Malone and Tod Lanter. Floreal will be one of nine UK freshmen on the roster.

Fun fact: The last five UK players to wear No. 24 have all been highly touted prospects: Eric Bledsoe, Kelenna Azubuike, Marvin Stone, Antione Walker and Jamal Mashburn.

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Rankings breakdown: A fifth No. 1 class for Calipari

 Posted by at 7:24 PM on May 23, 2013  2 Responses »
May 232013
 
John Calipari with his top two players from the class of 2011 -- Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Photo: Associated Press

John Calipari with his top two players from the class of 2011 — Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Photo: Associated Press

Scout.com released its final class of 2013 team rankings Thursday, and Kentucky was once again at the top of the list.

It was the fifth consecutive No. 1 class for the Wildcats, all of which came under Coach John Calipari.

That Calipari has been dominating the recruiting world since he arrived in Lexington isn’t news. But just how close has the competition been over the past five classes?

A few notes to digest, plus a chart featuring the schools that have had the most success with the past five recruiting classes:

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RSCI rankings: Past counterparts for the future Cats

 Posted by at 3:05 PM on May 21, 2013  No Responses »
May 212013
 
UK signee Julius Randle is No. 2 in the final RSCI rankings for the class of 2013. Photo courtesy of McDonald's

UK signee Julius Randle is No. 2 in the final RSCI rankings for the class of 2013.
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

The final RSCI rankings for the class of 2013 were released earlier this week, and the numbers showed what was already known.

Kentucky has put together one of the best recruiting classes in college basketball history.

In fact, the RSCI breakdown states that UK’s eight-man group “is without question the most talented and deepest recruiting class in RSCI’s 16 year history.”

The RSCI incorporates Top 100 lists from several different national recruiting services with the goal of achieving a more accurate set of rankings.

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Eight is enough: A look at UK’s No. 1 recruiting class

 Posted by at 12:11 PM on May 14, 2013  3 Responses »
May 142013
 

Andrew Wiggins is going to Kansas, but Kentucky should be just fine for next season.

Here’s a look at the Wildcats’ eight-man recruiting class, which includes six McDonald’s All-Americans and the two best players from the Bluegrass.

UK’s recruiting class of 2013
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Aaron Harrison SG 6-5 205 Houston 7 4 9 5
Andrew Harrison PG 6-5 205 Houston 5 3 5 4
Dominique Hawkins G 6-1 170 Richmond, Ky. – – – 155
Dakari Johnson C 6-11 250 New York City 9 18 7 8
Marcus Lee F 6-9 200 Antioch, Calif. 19 21 25 14
Julius Randle PF 6-8 240 Plano, Texas 2 5 3 2
Derek Willis SF 6-9 200 Mt. Washington, Ky. 115 – – 59
James Young G/F 6-6 200 Rochester, Mich. 11 10 8 10
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First look: Top recruits on UK’s non-conference slate

 Posted by at 5:04 PM on May 1, 2013  No Responses »
May 012013
 
Kennedy Meeks is one of at least two McDonald's All-Americans who will play for North Carolina next season. Photo courtesy of McDonald's

Kennedy Meeks is one of at least two McDonald’s All-Americans who will play for North Carolina next season.
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

Kentucky released its non-conference schedule Wednesday afternoon, and next season’s slate features several marquee games. Here’s a look at some of the top recruits from the class of 2013 who the Cats will be facing:

Nov. 12 — vs. MICHIGAN STATE in Chicago
Tom Izzo has only two recruits in his 2013 class — three-star forwards Gavin Schilling and Alvin Ellis. Schilling is a 6-9 power forward out of Findlay Prep (Nev.) who is considered the No. 125 overall player in the class by Rivals.com. Ellis is a 6-5 small forward from Chicago. Kentucky fans will also have an opportunity to see shooting guard Gary Harris, who chose the Spartans over UK and will return for his sophomore season.

Dec. 1 — vs. PROVIDENCE in Brooklyn
The star of the Friars’ recruiting class is small forward Brandon Austin, who Scout.com considers the No. 38 overall prospect in the class. Austin — a 6-6 native of Philadelphia — originally committed to Penn State before backing out of that pledge. Highly touted 2012 point guard Kris Dunn will return for his sophomore season after being hobbled by injuries for much of his first year with the Friars. UK fans won’t get to see former Calipari target Ricardo Ledo, who opted for the NBA Draft after being ineligible for his first season at Providence.

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By the numbers: Updated glance at UK’s class of ’13

 Posted by at 10:06 PM on April 16, 2013  Comments Off
Apr 162013
 

With the regular signing period beginning Wednesday and Rivals.com releasing their final player rankings earlier this week, here’s a closer look at UK’s 2013 recruiting class with updated player info.

UK’s recruiting class of 2013
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Aaron Harrison SG 6-5 205 Houston, Texas 7 4 7 3
Andrew Harrison PG 6-5 205 Houston, Texas 5 3 5 4
Dominique Hawkins G 6-1 170 Richmond, Ky. *** *** *** 173
Dakari Johnson C 7-0 250 New York City 9 18 11 13
Marcus Lee F 6-9 200 Antioch, Calif. 19 21 18 9
Julius Randle PF 6-8 240 Plano, Texas 2 5 3 2
Derek Willis SF 6-9 200 Mt. Washington, Ky. 115 *** *** 64
James Young G/F 6-6 200 Rochester, Mich. 11 10 6 11
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UK fans bring visual aids to Jordan Brand Classic

 Posted by at 11:00 PM on April 13, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 132013
 
UK fans in Brooklyn brought visual aids to Saturday night's Jordan Brand Classic.

UK fans in Brooklyn brought visual aids to Saturday night’s Jordan Brand Classic.

There were at least a handful of Kentucky basketball fans in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Saturday night.

Here’s an ESPN camera shot of UK supporters who got creative with cutouts of Andrew Wiggins and the six future Wildcats playing in the Jordan Brand Classic.

Click on the photo for a better look.

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Julius Randle named co-MVP in Jordan Classic loss

 Posted by at 10:34 PM on April 13, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 132013
 
UK commitment Julius Randle scored 19 points in Saturday night's Jordan Brand Classic. Photo courtesy of McDonald's

UK commitment Julius Randle scored 19 points in Saturday night’s Jordan Brand Classic.
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s

Julius Randle and the Harrison twins teamed up with Andrew Wiggins on Saturday night, but it wasn’t enough for a victory.

And it’s still not clear if the four high school superstars will wear the same uniform next season at Kentucky.

Randle tallied 19 points and seven rebounds and was named co-MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic in Brooklyn, but his East team fell 102-98 to a West squad that included three more future Wildcats.

Wiggins and Randle combined for the game’s best play — an over-the-shoulder pass from the former to the latter that ended with a thunderous alley-oop finish by Randle.

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Recruiting update on Madison Central’s Bosley, Taylor

 Posted by at 12:05 PM on April 11, 2013  No Responses »
Apr 112013
 
Madison Central's Quan Taylor, center, celebrated the school's state title with teammates Dominique Hawkins, left, and Ken-Jah Bosley last month. Photo: Pablo Alcala/Herald-Leader

Madison Central’s Quan Taylor, center, celebrated the school’s state title with teammates Dominique Hawkins, left, and Ken-Jah Bosley last month.
Photo: Pablo Alcala/Herald-Leader

Sweet Sixteen MVP Dominique Hawkins announced his college decision Wednesday morning, but he’s not the only member of Madison Central’s state championship team whose recruitment picked up after the Sweet Sixteen.

Seniors Ken-Jah Bosley and Quan Taylor are still going through the process of picking a college.

Bosley, who hit the game-winning three-pointer to lift the Indians over Ballard in the state title game, was mostly looking at Georgetown and Cumberlands before helping Madison Central win the championship. He’s received Division I interest since then, and the 6-foot-1 shooting guard is scheduled to visit Wright State and Northern Kentucky in the next couple of weeks.

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The Great Eight: Kentucky’s recruiting class of 2013

 Posted by at 9:24 AM on April 10, 2013  4 Responses »
Apr 102013
 

With the addition of Dominique Hawkins, UK’s recruiting class of 2013 now consists of eight players — six of whom are McDonald’s All-Americans.

Here’s a closer look at the next wave of Wildcats:

UK’s recruiting class of 2013
Player Pos Ht Wt Hometown Rivals Scout ESPN 24/7
Aaron Harrison SG 6-5 205 Houston, Texas 4 4 7 3
Andrew Harrison PG 6-5 205 Houston, Texas 5 3 5 4
Dominique Hawkins G 6-1 170 Richmond, Ky. – – – 173
Dakari Johnson C 6-11 250 New York City 13 18 11 13
Marcus Lee F 6-9 200 Antioch, Calif. 18 21 18 9
Julius Randle PF 6-8 240 Plano, Texas 2 5 3 2
Derek Willis SF 6-9 200 Mt. Washington, Ky. 129 – – 64
James Young G/F 6-6 200 Rochester, Mich. 10 10 6 11
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